Taste Of Eternity
by Not A Pretty Girl
Summary: "He would taint her if he kept her. But he would break her if he let her go." Heero, a heartless vampire, finds himself falling far the human Relena. Can their love defy even death itself? AU (obviously!)
1. *~ "Stick to your own kind."

Taste of Eternity  
  
Author's Note: This story has taken forever to post and caused me a lot of heartache. My computer corrupted the file and made it almost impossible to get into the story. For the sake of my sanity, please read and review this one.   
  
Disclaimer = I do not own them and I never will. ^_^  
  
  
  
He sat alone in the darkened room, his shoulders hunched in a sorrowful defeat. The heavy black velvet curtains were drawn tight over the windows, dissuading even a single sliver of light to pour through, for fear that it would interrupt his misery. He sighed carefully, savoring the way the unneeded breath traveled through his useless lungs to come clouding out in the air, billowing into a cold frost. "I'm such a fool." He commented to the empty room, the words echoing through his skull with a truth that he could not deny. "I let her go."  
  
"Don't beat yourself up about it, buddy." Another voice responded with a little more feeling than his own. "You can't lose someone you never had." The first man got slowly to his feet, his deathly pale skin giving off a faint glow in the darkness of the study.   
  
"That's where you're wrong, Duo. She could have been mine…if I wasn't such a monster."  
  
The one called Duo smiled jovially, his pale pink lips parting to reveal pearly white fangs. "That's why you should stick to your own kind, Heero. Why date if you can't mate?"  
  
"Shut up."  
  
Seeing he was in no mood to joke around, Duo shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, man. I'll leave you to wallow in self pity." Heero nodded, his expression overshadowed by the dark brown bangs hanging messily over his eyes. He sank back down onto the couch, burying his face in his hands. Duo paused at the door, catching a glimpse of his friend out of the corner of his eye. *I've never seen Heero so worked up about some chick, especially a human.* he thought to himself, his hand frozen on the doorknob. *Maybe I should stay and talk with him. After all, I did ditch a perfectly good party to find him…*  
  
The instant the thought passed through his mind, the door opened and Duo stumbled forward, having leaned all his weight against the doorknob. He fell into the arms of a slender vampiress, who giggled and helped right himself. "Duo!" she said, smiling seductively. "You were just the person I was looking for."  
  
All thoughts of Heero pushed out of his mind, Duo grinned back at her. "Hilde, I thought you were still at the party." She shook her head, her short black locks bouncing cutely around her face as she did so. " Nope, I followed you here. Aren't you happy to see me?" He nodded, grabbing her roughly around the waist and pulling her lithe body up against his own. "Very." He commented, and shut the door behind him with his foot.  
  
Heero leaned back against the couch, his eyes closed, trying to block out the very suggestive sounds coming from the back room. Why couldn't they find another place to do that, it was a fairly large house. The abandoned manor served as a place where vampires could stay for short periods of time, if they had no where else to go. Heero had come here to be alone, only to be followed by them.  
  
Curling up his legs to form a little protective ball, Heero tried uselessly to go to sleep. He needed to stop thinking, to stop being, for just a little while, otherwise the pain would become too great to bear. Of course, he didn't need sleep, just like he didn't need to eat or even breathe. Most of these necessities died along with his body, and he did them more out of habit than anything else.   
  
For a vampire, Heero was still considered very young. He was created about 300 years ago, by the same being that was the closest thing he had to a friend today. Duo used to get his kicks by going out at night to the tame colonial pubs and brewing up trouble. He had an unquenchable lust for blood and would go after any defenseless human he could get his hands on. Of course, when he was hit with this incredible craving, he often lost control and went too far. Too many humans had died because of his inability to stop feeding. Duo finally got into the habit of offering his victims immortality to replace their untimely death. Many humans declined, while others agreed to become one of his race. Heero never remembered consenting, but he didn't recall arguing either. In fact, he couldn't remember much about that last night as a human, it was all too long ago.   
  
Embedding his throbbing head further into the couch's pillow, Heero tried vainly to prevent all of the memories flooding his already heartbroken mind from causing him even more pain. It hadn't been a good day, to say the least, and the last thing he needed was to be reminded of his tragic past, which eventually led up to the miserable present. Heero willed himself to fall asleep, the moans and screams from the other room acting as a perverse lullaby. He gave himself up to a dreamless night, but was instead greeted by a barrage of memories…  



	2. *~ "I could never be like you."

Taste of Eternity  
  
Disclaimer = I do not own them and I never will. ^_^  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ((begin flashback/heero's memory))  
  
The ground was hard against his back, with sharp rocks and shards of glass poking into his fragile flesh. He lay on the ground, facing up towards the dark night sky, and wondering how he got to be here. "Unh.." he groaned, trying to sit up and failing. His joints creaked loudly in protest and his muscles burned with pain as he tried again, managing to right himself into a sitting position. Heero blinked, looking down at himself in a silent confusion.  
  
He was dressed in his work clothes, a pair of reasonable brown trousers and a button down vest, but they were torn and tattered. His arms were streaked with mud, and he found it hard to open his mouth, for something liquid had dried there, making the skin taut and hard to flex. Heero's hand carefully traveled up to his face, and he gently chipped away at the unknown substance coating his skin and clothes. He pulled his hand back and discovered that there was the dark brown stain of dried blood caught underneath his fingernails. His eyes widened and, pain forgotten, he jumped to his feet, yelling out in surprise. The ground below him was covered in blood, bubbling a sickly red in the silver moonlight. He ran a nervous hand through his hair, drawing it back to find his palm was now colored a deep crimson. He had never seen so much blood before.   
  
Heero stared at his hand for awhile, then noticed that fresh blood was spilling down his usually stark white work shirt, which he used for farming out in the fields. It looked like a wine stain that kept on spreading. The thin fabric quickly clung to his skin as the sticky blood covered his entire chest, acting like a morbidly grotesque glue. Trying frantically to find where all this blood was coming from, Heero patted himself down, searching for an injury. His fingers prodded the back of his neck and he winced, feeling a sharp stinging pain explode through his consciousness. The pain reminded him of something that happened earlier that night. A blinding pain, so intense it felt like he was dying. Dying…  
  
He shook the thought from his mind and poked at the injury again. When he pulled his hand back, his forefinger was stained dark scarlet. "What's going on?" he whispered into the dark, foreboding forest that surrounded him. He didn't know how he came to be out in the middle of nowhere, miles away from the nearest village and severely injured beyond his own comprehension. He stared at the blood. It seemed so inviting. Without a second thought, Heero licked it away, feeling the heavy taste of it on his tongue. He insides burned, then relaxed almost instantly.  
  
Behind him, someone started clapping.   
  
He whirled around to see a stranger perched in one of the tree branches, applauding him for some unknown reason. Heero's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?!" he demanded of the stranger, who smiled coolly in reply. "Why Heero, you don't remember me? Ah, well I suppose dying does take it's toll on the mind."  
  
Heero stepped backwards, narrowly avoiding slipping into the bloody mess on the forest floor. "What the hell are you talking about?!" he yelled, fear rising inside him. "And how did you know my name?"  
  
"Gee, you're full of questions, huh? Well at least your smart enough to have tasted some on your own."  
  
"Tasted what?" Heero asked, taking another step backwards as the stranger jumped down from the tree.   
  
"Blood, of course." came the reply. "Course you can't last long on your own, or mine for that matter. You're going to have to feed soon."  
  
"You're crazy!" Heero yelled, digging his bare heels into the soft soil and preparing to make a run for it. The twin puncture wounds on the back of his neck were throbbing.   
  
"No, I'm Duo." the man said simply, extending his hand. "And like it or not pal, you're not going to be able to run anywhere. You don't belong with them anymore."  
  
Heero gave him a blanched look. "How do you know what I was thinking? Tell me!"   
  
Duo shrugged and retracted his hand once he was sure Heero wasn't going to shake it. "I'm a vampire." he said simply. "I read minds. And now, so can you." Heero let this information sink in before shaking his head forcefully. "No...I could never be like you."  
  
With a long, dramatic sigh, Duo's cold, black empty eyes caught Heero's own and held his gaze with a serious stare. "You don't really have a choice anymore. Your mortal body is already dead. And if you don't get human blood in you soon, you'll soon perish as well."  
  
Heero sat down hard into the dirt, feeling an empty ache inside him. "No.." he whispered, trying to convince himself. "I won't. I couldn't possibly.."   
  
"What's the matter?" Duo asked, getting quite bored with the whole conversation. "Why aren't you like everyone else I've changed? You're a vampire, just like the rest of us. You're just going to have to learn to deal with it."  
  
"But I'm NOT a killer!" Heero said, feeling the familiar sensation of tears welling in his eyes. "They're people! How could you possibly..?"  
  
Duo watched in amusement as a solitary tear coursed down Heero's face and froze before it reached the ground. The confused boy plucked the crystallized tear off his cheek and stared at it in dumb amazement. "How can I kill the humans?" Duo asked, mulling the question over in his head. "Why don't we ask them how can they kill the cattle they eat? It's their food, Heero. Food is there to be slaughtered."  
  
"But humans have thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams!" Heero cried desperately, holding onto all the morals that he had believed his whole life. "To take life is a sin."  
  
"Then may the world rot in hell for the millions of lives they've taken to keep their miserable selves alive." Duo intoned. "I'm not going to stand here and argue about the humanity in our actions, because there is none. We're not human. We are the hunters and they are the prey. Now either you come with me and stay alive, or you stay here and starve to death. Long, slow and painful, believe me. What'll it be?"  
  
He reached his hand down, palm extended to offer Heero to his feet. Heero, getting paler by the minute and feeling as though his insides were tearing themselves to pieces, still hesitated to take the hand offered. He knew what it would mean if he did. He would truly become one of them, become a creature of the night. A murderer. His soul would be damned.  
  
*We are already damned.* Duo's voice resonated in his head. Heero took a deep breath, realizing it was the first one he had taken since he woke up, and clasped Duo's hand with his own. Duo grinned and pulled him to his feet, thumping him good-naturedly on the back with his fist. "I knew you'd see it my way." he announced. Heero scowled darkly at him. "Stay out of my head." He commented.   
  
Duo threw his head back and laughed. It was chilling to hear because his voice lacked the happiness behind his actions. "I won't make you any promises on that my friend, but I just might teach you how to read others thoughts. Our mind powers are just as strong as our physical abilities. Some of the strongest can even predict the future, or alter the past."  
  
The two walked off into the direction of town with Duo babbling about all the ways he'd lured humans right to him and how good of a vampire he was. Heero trailed after him silently, wiping the dried blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. The red streaked down his wrist, standing out violently against his pale white skin. There was something terribly familiar about that streak, that Heero couldn't quite place. *A teardrop.* he decided, before wiping it off on his torn trousers. *Odd.*  
  
The years seemed to pass in mere seconds, and Heero learned the ways of the world from the eyes of a hunter. At first he fed only on people who he thought deserved it, but as time went on, he stopped caring. All the shreds of his once human soul disintegrated, leaving him cold and empty inside. The years had hardened him, changing him from kindhearted to cruel. Eventually, he had almost no emotions at all. He felt like a machine, doing the same routine everyday. Hunting gave him no pleasure anymore, and he wasn't fulfilled as his friend was at the sound of a human's dying breath. It all seemed so pointless. And he had an eternity to live a life filled with nothing.  



	3. *~ "Her life is in your hands now."

Taste of Eternity  
  
Disclaimer = I do not own them and I never will. ^_^  
  
  
The first real change came unexpectedly. Early one morning, Duo came bursting into the small apartment they shared with two other vampires. The year was 1966 and he had been out all morning attending some Anti-War protest. He told Heero once that he found it amusing to mix himself up in whatever trend humans found so interesting. Heero told him he was an idiot to mingle with the other humans and that he was only putting himself in danger. In response to this, Duo very casually flicked him off and grabbed his peace sign necklace, claiming he was late to a protest rally.  
  
That morning however, Duo returned looking very flushed and happy. Heero assumed he had been feeding too much, but, upon closer inspection, realized that Duo was blushing. He didn't even know it was possible. "What's your problem?" He asked gruffly, his voice carrying his usual monotonous tone. Duo grinned and flopped down on the couch, flipping through channels. "Ooh nothing that concerns you," he said mysteriously, avoiding everyone's gaze. Heero glanced questioningly at their roommate, a hotheaded female vampiress who had been around long enough to see the great pyramids rise in Egypt. Dorothy caught him looking at her and she shrugged. "Don't ask me," she said, snatching the channel-changer from Duo's hand and put on her favorite soap opera. "He always acts weird."  
  
Heero looked sharply at the TV and lashed out with his mental Power. Sparks flew from the antenna and the TV screen went blank. "HEY!" Duo and Dorothy yelled simultaneously, turning to glare at Heero. He allowed himself a small smirk. "No TV until Duo tells me what's wrong with him."  
  
Dorothy glared angrily at Duo and he muttered darkly under his breath. *I shoulda never trained Heero to use his Power.* he thought regretfully. *He's probably the strongest vampire I've ever changed.*  
  
"I'm waiting.." Heero commented, reading Duo's thoughts like a book. Duo sighed, then smiled. "I found her!" he said brightly, getting to his feet and jumping up and down excitedly. Heero raised an eyebrow and Dorothy snorted in disgust. "I'm going to my room." She declared. "I have a TV in there." She stormed out in a huff and Duo continued his jumping. "Aw Heero, man, she's beautiful. And talk about HOT!"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Heero asked. Not getting a straight answer, he tore through Duo's defenses easily, prying into his mind with his Power. The image of a young girl, around 17, floated from Duo's mind to his own. She had thick black hair that hung just by her ears and laughing blue eyes. In the image, she was smiling at something, probably a joke Duo told. Heero flung the memory back in Duo's face and smiled contemptuously. "So you've found a weakness."  
  
"Nah, not a weakness. A babe!" Duo amended, smiling and staring off into the distance. "I'm gonna go visit her tonight. I think we're going to have lots of fun."  
  
He flashed Heero a wicked smile and purposely elongated his teeth to become fangs. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to play with your food?" Heero asked and Duo shook his head innocently. "Nope, haven't heard that one. Besides, after tonight she isn't going to be a human anymore." He skipped off to his room, forgetting all about the TV. "Probably isn't going to be a virgin anymore either," Heero said to himself, getting to his feet and stretching.   
  
Rooming with Duo and Dorothy wasn't exactly the best living situation he could have asked for. They were both loud, annoying and full of themselves, plus they were constantly talking about their human conquests. Heero usually cut out before night fell, either to hunt or to find someplace else to stay. He grabbed his overcoat and slipped it on over his black muscle shirt and faded blue jeans. He definitely did not want to be around this place tonight.  
  
Heero slipped out the door and was immediately bathed in the golden light of the setting sun. He smiled and shaded his eyes against the light, starting down the apartment flat's steps. Humans superstitions were, for the most part, groundless, he decided, slipping on his sunglasses. Sunlight, even the bright noonday zenith, had absolutely no affect on his kind. His smile deepened as he thought of the movie Dracula they had watched last night on television, and how upset Duo became at the way the human's portrayed the Transylvanian Count. "An outrage!" he recalled the braided vampire yelling, and throwing the nearest inanimate object at the TV screen. "Not even the weakest vampire could be killed off that easily!"  
  
He was right of course. The only thing that could kill a vampire was being drained by another one of their own kind. Heero shook his head to clear this gruesome thought and continued down the street, his hands jammed in his pockets and his shoulders rounded, giving off an air that stated: 'Don't mess with me.'  
  
He walked for a little while, not sure where he was going exactly but vaguely aware that he was heading in the right direction. Crowds of people were pushing past him now, all headed in the opposite direction. *They just must have gotten off work.* he decided after nearly being trampled by a mob clad in business suits. Heero clenched his teeth and bowed his head as body after body slammed into him, brushing rudely past. He could hear the throbbing pulse of each human's heart as they scrambled by, absorbed in their non important lives worried about trivial things.  
  
Heero took a deep breath inhaling the rich aroma of blood hanging in the air like fog. His own veins pulsed with the rhythm of the city, filling him with a sense of fulfillment. Yes, tonight would be a good time to hunt.  
  
Increasing his pace, his hunger rising with every step, Heero became desperate to escape this big crowd. If his craving got large enough, there was no telling if he could keep control of himself, especially since he was upset already. But, as fate would have it, something unexpected happened that kept him delayed a bit longer than he would have liked.   
  
"Scuse me." he muttered for what seemed the thousandth time as he bumped into yet another pedestrian. *I see I still haven't lost my manners.* he thought ruefully, recovering his footing and starting back on his way. *Perhaps I should start apologizing to my prey before I kill them.*  
  
"That's okay," the young girl he bumped replied. "Happens all the time." She laughed a little and dusted off her tie-dye jacket. Heero froze and turned around to face her. Something about the way she laughed…it was so familiar. He didn't have to guess long about the source of his deja vu because the young girl before him was none other than the object of Duo's affection. She was a lot smaller in real life than in Duo's mind, in both height and bust size. Of course, Heero had learned by now to take whatever Duo thought and divide in half in order to come out with anything realistic. He realized he was staring at the girl and immediately looked to the ground.   
  
"Uh, well, sorry again." He mumbled awkwardly. Why was he being so stupid?   
  
"No, really. It's okay. I'm more surprised that you bothered to apologize more than the fact that you bumped me. Not like anything can really bug me today. I'm on my way to a date with the greatest guy. I think he might be the one." A silly smile crept on her face and Heero felt her heart beat faster and faster. He licked his lips anxiously.   
  
"Oh my gosh, I'm babbling to a stranger. You must think I'm whacked."  
  
Heero smirked. "No. Have fun on your date."  
  
The girl grinned and gave him a little wave. "Thanks. Peace man." She said, turning on her heel and walking in the opposite direction. Heero watched her fade into the crowd, an uneasy feeling eating away at the pit of his stomach. He knew what lay in wait for her back at the apartment. She would get the dream date she'd always wanted. And then she would die.  
  
Heero shook his head to clear this thought and jammed his hands brusquely in his pockets. What did he care? She was just another girl, like all the others.   
  
*This is different though. She's a person. She has thoughts…opinions….humor.*  
  
"They all have that." Heero reminded himself. "Get over it Yuy." But his subconscious wouldn't leave him alone. That nagging feeling in his stomach never left, only grew, and it had nothing to do with hunger. *You could still save her. Make up some excuse. Knock her over the head. Anything to keep her away.*  
  
"Shut up." Heero growled. "I know what you are. And I wish you would go away."  
  
*You can't hide from your humanity Heero. You're not like the other vampires. No matter how many times you try to bury me under layers of indifference, I'll always be here waiting. Her life is on your hands now…*  
  
"Hers and hundreds of other peoples." Heero corrected, pushing that galling voice out of his head. "It's no longer my problem."  
  
Heero may have been able to shake the voice, but the feeling stayed with him for the rest of the night. The sun set quickly enough, spilling the city streets into an inky darkness, and still he walked, tormented by his own underlying guilt.  



	4. *~ "The better vampire."

Taste Of Eternity  
  
Disclaimer = I do not own them and I never will. ^_^  
  
  
Fed up with everything and unable to shake his self-induced torture, he headed over to Central Park. It was quiet for once, completely devoid of anything living. Heero's stomach lurched and he narrowed his eyes. In his battle against his resurfacing humanity he had forgotten all about his craving. Scanning the dark grounds, Heero determined that there wasn't a human around for miles.  
  
"Figures." He muttered, crashing down on the soft grass. He leaned his head against the smooth bark of an aged oak tree and stared up at the sky through it's bowing branches. "It's so beautiful.." he murmured, watching as a streak of red shot across the heavens. "A shooting star."  
  
The instant the words were out of his mouth, a searing pain shot through his mind. It felt like someone was attacking him with their Power, but no one was there. Heero sat bolt upright and looked around frantically, eyes bulging. The wind rustled the dry tree branches and already fallen leaves swirled across the dirty cement, but the park remained silent and empty.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Heero wondered aloud, getting cautiously to his feet. His question was greeted with a high pitched giggle. "What the fu-" he gasped, whirling around. Standing directly behind him was a tiny girl, no older than two. She looked curiously up at him with big aquamarine eyes that were sparkling with laughter.   
  
*How could she possibly have gotten here without me sensing her?!* Heero thought desperately. *Come to think of it, I don't even sense her now…*   
  
"What are you?" Heero asked, taking a step towards the little girl. She laughed and stepped backwards, then proceeded to twirl around in a little half circle. Her golden hair fanned out behind her and fell softly back down at her shoulders, yet her gaze never left his face. "WHAT ARE YOU?!" Heero demanded, extending his Power to reach into the girl's mind. The odd thing was, he couldn't find one. It was as though she hadn't a thought in her head.  
  
Heero, more curious than anything, reached forward to grab ahold of the girl's arm. His fingers clutched nothing but air and in mere seconds, the little girl simply vanished. He stood frozen on the spot, his hand still curled around the spot where the girl stood. "Now I'm a bit unnerved." he commented to the empty park.   
  
"Hee hee!"  
  
It was that giggle again. He whirled around to see the same girl standing halfway across the park perched on the edge of the fountain. Heero focused his Power on her location and quickly teleported over there. "Tell me, what do you want from me?"  
  
The little blonde haired beauty looked up at him quizzically. She tilted her head to one side, then to the other, as though he were a puzzle she was trying to figure out. His coal black eyes met her transparent blue ones and held her gaze. After a staring contest that lasted at least ten minutes, the little girl burst out laughing. "Come play with me again!" she commanded in a voice that sounded strangely like music. "I'll be waiting."  
  
"WAIT!" Heero yelled, getting the feeling she was about to disappear again. She giggled in reply and held up eight of her fingers, then three. "Bye," she whispered and dissolved into the air without a trace.  
  
Heero sat down heavily on the bench where she had previously been standing, going over the nights events in his head. Could it possibly be some sort of strange hallucination due to not being able to feed? Or maybe he was still upset from the events that occurred earlier that day.  
  
No. Whatever had just happened was definitely real. Heero took one last look around the park to make sure that girl still wasn't hanging around somewhere. He got the surprise of his life. Instead of the little girl, he saw…himself. There was no doubt about it. Halfway hidden behind a tree was the unmistakable figure of himself. It felt like he was looking into a mirror, a mirror that moved.   
  
He got slowly to his feet, his hand moving to the dagger concealed cleverly in his overcoat. He knew that some vampires were skilled at shapeshifting. Perhaps this one found it amusing to scare the shit out of unsuspecting victims by taking on their form and then calling a surprise attack. Heero, being talented in all aspects of his Power, concealed his aura and reached out to inspect the clone's. He gasped, staggered backward and immediatley sat back down again.  
  
This was no shapeshifter. The aura was identical to his own. The person standing in front of him was…well, him! "Impossible." Heero whispered hoarsely, his head spinning. "What is this?!"   
  
His "twin" caught him staring and grinned, as though he had just completed some important mission. Then, he too, disappeared.   
  
Heero passed out cold on the unwelcoming cement.  
  
He awoke the next morning to something hard and pointy poking him in the side. "Unnh.." he complained, rolling over on his back. A faint giggle reached his ears.  
  
Heero's eyes flew open at once, and he sat upright, his dagger unsheathed and armed in his hand. But instead of the little girl he thought was laughing, there stood Duo with his arms wrapped around some girl.  
  
The girl giggled again and tightened her grip around Duo's neck. "Hiya handsome." She said, winking. "You look familiar."  
  
Heero rubbed his eyes with one hand and clutched at his head with the other. Where was he?  
  
"Uh, Heero, buddy, you okay?" Duo asked, tossing another pillow behind Heero's head. "What happened to you man?"  
  
"Where am I?" Heero croaked. "The apartment?" Duo nodded.  
  
"I went looking for you around 4 last night. Found you knocked out in the park. Did some punk vamp jump you?"  
  
Heero shook his head slowly, remembering the little girl's haunting blue eyes. "No…I'd rather not talk about it."  
  
Duo shrugged. "Your choice dude. Oh, by the way, this is Hilde. She's my new favorite fledgling."  
  
Heero glanced at the girl hanging all over Duo and offered her a thin lipped smile. She was the same girl that he had bumped into yesterday. The one he could have saved…  
  
If he didn't know for a fact it was the same person, he never would have recognized her. Her long black hair was cut shorter and was pulled back into a messy ponytail, leaving a few strands to frame her face. She was wearing more makeup than she was upon their first meeting, and a skimpy red dress to match. And her once laughing eyes were now as soulless as Heero's himself. Duo always made quick work of his victims.  
  
"I'm gonna show Hilde how the world works today." Duo said proudly. "Wanna come hunting with us?"  
  
Heero glanced from Hilde to Duo with disgust. There was no doubt in his mind that the two planned to have some "after dinner entertainment" that he really didn't care to witness. "No thanks." He said shortly. Duo shrugged. "Fine by me. But don't come looking for my help if you get your ass kicked again tonight."  
  
Snarling, Heero grabbed his black overcoat off the hook and flung open the door. "I didn't-" he began but Duo waved his hand dismissivley. "Yeah, yeah whatever."   
  
Heero left the house, slamming the door with all his strength. The windowpanes rattled and the small glass window on the door shattered into a thousand pieces.  
  
"Damn it!" Duo swore, looking over the door with dismay. "The whole things out off the hinges!" Hilde shook her head. "I don't like him very much."  
  
"Don't worry about it babe, no one does."  
  
Heero walked down the street, muttering dark words under his breath. His little confrontation with Duo was soon forgotten as he got nearer and nearer to Central Park. Last night's events flashed through his mind like a movie on rewind, playing the unexplainable images of the little girl and himself, mocking his ignorance as to their meaning. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he recalled the girl's chilling laugh, and he quickly shook it out of his mind.   
  
"Whatever it was, it was important." He mumbled, making a sharp right and heading into the park. "Maybe I can find an answer here.."  
  
Heero stepped through the arches leading into the park and walked to the spot where last night's events had occurred. He leaned up against the tree, as if in a daze, and reached out with his Power, trying to determine if there were any traces of what had transpired.  
  
There was nothing.  
  
"Figures," Heero mumbled, turning to go. "It'll probably always be a mystery." He was just about to re-exit the park when he froze. The fresh scent of blood wafted through the air, screaming it's presence nearby. A warm rush traveled through Heero's body as he locked onto the scent and started off in that direction. The thrill of the hunt.  
  
As he got closer and closer to the source of the blood, Heero heard someone cursing. He looked a little to his right to see a girl with poofy brown hair and milky blue eyes sitting on a park bench, grabbing her elbow in pain.  
  
"Dammit!" she hissed, eyes watering. "I knew I should have worn elbow guards today!" She bit her bottom lip to keep from crying and looked down at her elbow. The entire first layer of skin was scraped off and fresh red blood was leaking through her fingers. She whimpered in pain and looked down at her rollerblades in disdain.  
  
"This is all your fault!" she reprimanded the blades, chuckling a little through her tears.  
  
"What happened to you?" A voice from behind inquired. The girl turned around to see a tall, muscular young man looking down at her. She sniffled and managed a smile.   
  
"Tripped on my new blades…" she offered, grinning weakly up at the pale stranger, who nodded through his dark brown bangs. "But I am, after all, Catherine 'The Klutz' Barton."  
  
"It seems pretty bad, let me have a look at it." Heero commanded, sitting down next to the girl, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. She looked a little taken aback but tilted her elbow towards him anyway.   
  
"I don't even know how I tripped," the girl was saying, babbling on as Heero inspected the injury with hungry eyes. "At least there was no one else around to see me take that embarrassing fall…hey, what are you-?"  
  
The girl's rambling was cut off as Heero moved in closer to her, his arm encircling her waist. She gave a little gasp of surprise and tried to pull away, but his lips were already at her neck. "Don't fight me." he ordered in a whisper as his sharp fangs pierced her delicate skin. The smell of the blood on her was driving him wild. She gave a little sound of protest before her eyes rolled back, then shut.   
  
Heero felt the warm blood rushing past his lips and pulled her in even closer. She tasted so real, so alive, that he was finding it hard to stop himself. The scent of her was inside him and he couldn't pull away. Her skin was getting colder now, the only warm point being at the spot where Heero's lips rested.   
  
*Stop. Stop. Stop.* Heero commanded himself, knowing she would be dead soon. But the other side of his brain, the one that craved blood in the first place, told him otherwise. *Who would know?* he reasoned with himself, drawing out a few more sweet tastes of her blood. *Who would even care?*  
  
"No!" Heero yelled suddenly, pushing himself away. The girl whimpered and slumped against the bench, leaving a smear of red as she fell. Her face was ashen and her lips blue, but her chest still rose and fell with the effort of breathing.  
  
Heero's eyes were wide, his own breath coming in short gasps. "Why?" he questioned aloud, staggering backwards. "Why?"  
  
Why had he stopped? Why had he let her live? Questions and emotions swirled through his head, and he couldn't answer any of them.   
  
Duo wouldn't have done it. He would have kept going until the end. That's why Duo, weak as he was, would always be the better vampire. And why he himself would always be the better human.  
  
Human?  
  
Heero turned on his heel and fled, terrified to be alone with that girl, but even more scared to be alone with himself. And in the back of his head, that strange little girl was laughing again. Laughing in her voice of music.  



	5. *~ "In that now familiar daze."

Taste of Eternity  
  
Disclaimer = I do not own them and I never will. ^_^  
  
  
  
That day had been the last time Heero ever lost control. He was always careful about feeding after that, making sure he never got to a point where he was so hungry he couldn't control his actions. The years continued on and on, but his life stayed the same. An endless cycle of life and death, and the misery of being caught in between.  
  
Heero awoke one morning with a particularly strange feeling resting in the pit of his stomach. He glanced at the clock, which blinked a bright 6:00. "What the hell am I doing up this early?" he wondering, dragging himself out of bed and shrugging on a t-shirt and jeans over his black boxers. "Did I have something to do today?"  
  
Walking through the house, Heero glanced at Duo and Hilde's closed door. From the sound of Duo's snoring, it seemed like the two of them were still asleep. Heero continued on down the hallway to enter the kitchen, when a sudden urge told him to stop and go to the door. Having a tendency to obey intuition, Heero did so, opening the screen door and peering outside.   
  
There was nothing of interest out there, save the early morning sun peering over the horizon and the newspaper resting on the doorstep. Heero bent over and picked up the paper, shaking the dew off the blue plastic bag and unfolding the first page. He scanned the headlines and yawned. Boring human things that were of no interest to him. He was just about to leave it outside, when the date caught his attention. June 15th, 1983.   
  
Heero dropped the newspaper and slammed the door shut, leaning his back up against it for support. June 15th. It was the same day he had seen that strange little girl in the park so many years ago. The same day he had witnessed that weird clone of himself behind the tree. Funny that he should remember it.   
  
Shaking his head to try and clear the memory, Heero started back into the kitchen to make himself a nice strong cup of coffee, when he froze in place again. The memory was too strong, he simply couldn't ignore it. He could practically hear the girl's voice playing in his ears, but more importantly, see what she had done just before she vanished.  
  
**"WAIT!" Heero had yelled, getting the feeling she was about to disappear again. She had giggled in reply and held up eight of her fingers, then three. "Bye," she whispered and dissolved into the air without a trace**  
  
Eight fingers, then three? 1983…the current year.   
  
**"Come play with me again, I'll be waiting."**  
  
"Oh, I'll come play with you all right." Heero muttered under his breath, slamming a coffee mug down on the counter. "I want to find out exactly what's going on here.."  
  
As soon as it was late enough in the afternoon to go for a walk without being questioned on his motives, Heero set out in search of that little girl. Of course, the most logical place to start was the park. He once again entered the park, this time with a mission on his mind. It was full to the bursting with people, flying kits, eating picnic lunches, sightseeing. Heero scanned the crowd for any small blonde haired girls, but the task was made particularly hard considering she was only about three feet tall.  
  
"Kitty's in the twee!"   
  
Heero's head swiveled around at the sound of the voice, but he couldn't see through the masses of people.  
  
"Mommy! Kitty's in the twee!"  
  
"Don't worry, baby. Ask your brother to get him down."   
  
The crowd thinned out just enough for Heero to see exactly what he was looking for. Underneath the same tree where it all had occurred so many years ago, sat the same little girl. Long honey colored hair, crystal clear blue eyes, haunting laugh. It was definitely her, only this time- she was very much real.  
  
The little girl was tugging at her mother's skirts and pointing frantically up at the big oak tree where a midnight black cat perched on one of the branches. A slightly older blonde haired boy, most likely her brother, tried vainly to scale the tree, only to come sliding down the trunk each time.  
  
"Mommy! Miwwiardo!" The little girl practically sobbed, giving both her mother and brother sad eyed glances. "I want my Kitty!"  
  
"Relena," her mother said with a smile. "Kitty will come down on her own. Mommy isn't tall enough to reach, and of course Milliardo can't climb that high."  
  
"I can too!" the little boy grunted trying to shimmy up the tree trunk. "Just give me a little time, mom!"  
  
Heero walked over to them, curious and confused at the same time. This little girl, the one they called Relena, was in fact the same one he saw that night back in the sixties. But it was physically impossible for her to be the same age now, for she was a human child, and from the look of it, wasn't capable of disappearing into thin air this time.  
  
"Excuse me, miss." Heero said, catching the mother's attention. "I could get the cat down."  
  
"Oh, would you?" she responded, smiling at him gratefully. "Relena would love you forever."  
  
Heero glanced down at the little girl, wondering if he saw any recognition of him in her eyes. She smiled and nodded, giving no signs that they had met before. Heero didn't know what to make of it, so he simply scaled the tree and brought the small kitten down in his arms.   
  
"KITTY!" Relena cried, jumping up and down. "You saved Kitty!"  
  
Heero nodded and bent down to be eye level with Relena. "Here you go." he said quietly, handing her the cat. She snatched it out of his grasp and cradled the animal to her chest. "Oh thank you!" she said sweetly, hugging Heero around the neck. "Thank you thank you thank you tha-"  
  
"Alright Relena, he gets the point." Milliardo said, walking over and prying his little sister away. Heero smirked and got to his feet. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on here, but he knew that it was very important in a way that he didn't yet understand.  
  
"Well, I'll be going." Heero muttered, sticking his hands in his trenchcoat pockets and turning to go. He stopped as he felt a hand on his shoulder.   
  
"Oh, wait a second, I didn't even get your name."   
  
"It's Heero." he stated, looking at Relena's mother. "Who're you?"  
  
"Oh, how silly of me. I'm Karen Peacecraft. This is my son Milliardo and my daughter Relena." she paused and smiled. "I know this is a little presumptuous of me, seeing as how I don't even know you, but would you like to come to lunch with us? Relena's taken a real shining to you."  
  
If Heero believed in destiny, this would have to be one of those moments where he marveled at fate. But being a believer in no one but himself, he shrugged it off as a weird coincidence. "No, I have plans." he stated. Mrs. Peacecraft nodded and fished a business card out of her purse.  
  
"Well, here's our home phone in case you ever need something. We're indebted. Come on kids, time to go eat."  
  
"Bye." Milliardo mumbled, shooting Heero a dark glance. "I coulda gotten the cat out of the tree by myself you know."  
  
Heero didn't know how to respond so he just watched as Milliardo stalked off.  
  
"Bye Heewo!" Relena said, smiling widely and skipping off after her brother. Heero watched them go and scratched his head. His life had just gotten a whole lot more complicated.  
  
He walked home, once again in that now familiar daze. What could this all mean? How was that ghostly premonition of the little girl connected to the real Relena? And what did it have to do with him? Nothing made sense anymore.  
  
Heero trudged up the stairs to the apartment and stuck the house key in the lock. Despite the fact that it was noon, Duo and Hilde were probably both still sleeping. Turning the key and unlocking the door, Heero stepped inside.  
  
Sure enough, the house was deadly silent. He found himself walking quietly just to match the stillness hanging in the air. Heero retreated back to his room and closed the door, flooding himself in blackness. Being able to see in any kind of light, he made his way over to the empty bulletin board hanging over his desk and tacked up the card the Peacecrafts had given him. He looked at it for awhile, memorizing the phone number. Then, just as suddenly, he reached over and tore the card down.   
  
"I don't like to be toyed with…" he whispered, ripping the card in half. "Especially by that girl, Relena." He watched as the two severed pieces of paper floated down to the ground before crashing backwards on the bed. "I'm gonna kill her." he said to the empty room, his voice steady and sure. "I'm gonna kill her…"   



	6. *~ "We meet at last."

Taste of Eternity  
  
Disclaimer = I do not own them and I never will. ^_^  
  
  
The next morning came all to quickly for Heero, as did the morning after that. The days kept coming and going, passing like mere seconds to the unhappy immortal. He didn't go to see Relena for years after their second meeting, but his threat on her life still stood buried in his heart. Heero took his mind off the mystery by watching as the world around him changed, even though he did not. Style and music were the most noticeable things, even though he didn't quite care for either. He found it interesting to watch the humans, and, with a little coaxing from Duo, enrolled at a local highschool as a transferred senior.   
  
"Here we are!" Duo said jovially, books tucked under one arm and the other slung around Hilde's shoulder. "Vampires hit the class of 2001!"   
  
"Shut up." Heero said automatically, shifting the weight of his backpack. "If you're going to broadcast things like that, could you at least lower your voice?"  
  
Duo stuck his tongue out at Heero and turned to Hilde. "Come on babe, we better not be seen around this loser, he's already cramping my style." Hilde nodded and shot Heero an apologetic glance before disappearing inside the building. Heero sighed and started inside the school wondering how he let himself be talked into things like this.  
  
"Hey!" a voice called out to him almost the second he walked into the building. "Who's the Goth?"  
  
Heero turned around to face a burly thick-necked football player pointing in his direction. The cronies that flanked him chuckled mindlessly. Heero narrowed his eyes.  
  
"What?"  
  
The jock, not liking the tone in which his victim had responded, cracked his knuckles in what he perceived as a threatening manor. "I said: Who's the Goth? I love your black contacts, Gothy, they're so spooky. Where the hell did you transfer from? Around here, we don't allow freaks in our school."  
  
Heero smirked. This human had no idea what he was getting himself into. He glanced up at the clock on the wall and saw he still had five minutes to get to his first period class. Plenty of time to kick the mortal's ass and get to Biology before the bell rang.   
  
"Why aren't you answering, Goth?" the jock continued while his two buddies snorted in laughter. "Don't like to talk?"   
  
Heero guessed that his enemy had finally run out of words to say, because he started walking towards him, taking practice swings in the air. Heero's muscles relaxed and he could feel Power lacing the blood in his veins. He would just have to restrain himself so he wouldn't kill the poor fool.  
  
"STOP IT!"  
  
Both boys stopped in their tracks at the sound of the voice. The jock's fists uncurled and he looked at the newcomer with big round eyes. "Hey there!" he began, putting a hand behind his head in a sign of innocence. "I didn't see you there baby."   
  
The girl who had yelled at them to stop rolled her eyes and tossed her long blonde hair behind one shoulder contemptuously. "I thought I asked you to stop picking all these fights, Randy. It's really juvenile of you. Maybe I don't want to be with a guy who's into violence..."  
  
Randy blanched. "What? Come on, I was just playing! I really wasn't gonna hurt the guy!"  
  
The girl's aquamarine eyes sparkled mischievously. "Right, sure.." she turned to look at Heero, concerned. "Are you okay?"  
  
Heero suppressed his smile. This human female was worried about him loosing a fight to another of her kind. It would have been funny if it weren't so pathetic.  
  
"I'm fine." He stated shortly, glaring at her. She smiled in return and gave Randy a definite look.   
  
"Maybe," she began, starting to inch closer to Heero, "I should be with a nicer guy."  
  
Randy's mouth dropped open. "No way! Relena, come on, it was a joke! You're my girl, right?"  
  
*Relena?!* Heero thought, eyes widening. *It couldn't be…*  
  
"I'm sick of your fights and I'm sick of you," Relena was saying as she dug around in her purse, completely oblivious of Heero's dumstruck expression. Relena paused and fished a pen out of her purse. "Here," she said, grabbing Heero's hand and holding it out to her palm up. She scrawled something on his skin and recapped the pen, shooting Randy an evil glare. "You better get going." She said to him, pointing at the clock. "You don't want Coach to get mad, do you?"  
  
Randy, still in shock about what just happened, mumbled something to his goons and then took off sprinting down the hallway, with them following close behind. Relena watched them go and then flashed Heero a smile. "Call me sometime, I always help out the new transfers." She said before ducking inside a nearby classroom.  
  
The bell rang shrilly and last minute stragglers in the hall disappeared. Heero alone remained, looking down at what the girl had written on his palm. It was her phone number, and it matched the one Mrs. Peacecraft had given to him so long ago.  
  
"Relena…" he said into the empty hall, clenching his hand into a fist. "We meet at last."  
  
When the final bell rang at the end of the day, Heero met up with Duo and Hilde in front of the school. "So?" Duo prompted, shoving some of Hilde's books in his own backpack so she wouldn't have to carry as much. "How was it?"  
  
Heero stared straight ahead, trying not to search the crowd for a certain head of blonde hair. "Fine." He said tersely, ignoring both Duo and Hilde as they chattered on about how much fun they had. "Just fine."  
  
When the three got back to the apartment, Heero stalked off to his room, slamming and locking the door shut behind him. Duo and Hilde exchanged glances and shrugged, heading off into the kitchen to make some after school snacks. Heero, meanwhile, was leaning up against the back of the door, breathing hard.   
  
"It is Relena…the same one." he said into the darkness of his room. "Why is she haunting me like this? Why do I even care?" The silence following his questions upset him even more. He stomped over to his CD players and randomly threw one in from his collection. Linkin Park's "Crawling" blasted through the room and shook the window panes on his boarded up window. Heero smiled, satisfied and sank down onto the floor, getting lost in the music.   
  
Sometimes, human things could be useful, he decided, turning up the volume even higher. He knew Duo and Hilde wouldn't mind, but still, the louder the music, the better he felt. He even forgot about Relena- until the song ended.  
  
"This sucks." He muttered, and the CD blared it agreement.   
  
When Heero's frustration finally burned down, he reluctantly turned off the stereo and picked up the phone. If he didn't do this now, he would surely go insane. He quickly dialed the number his fingers had been itching to do for nearly two decades, and waited with bated breath as the phone rang.  
  
"Hello?" Relena's said on from the other end of the line.   
  
Heero visibly relaxed at the sound of her voice. "This is Heero, the guy you met this morning." He said in the lucid tone his voice usually carried. Relena smiled.   
  
"Oh hey, I was just thinking about you. Sorry about your first impression of our school, it's not really that bad. Randy and his friends are all jackasses. I've been wanting a reason to dump him for awhile now."  
  
"Well, thanks for what you did." Heero responded, not meaning any of the words.   
  
Relena laughed. "No prob. Hey, maybe we can get together today and I'll show you around town. It's not easy being the new kid."  
  
"That'd be great." Heero said in monotone, "How about I meet you at the park?"  
  
"Okay, I'll be there in ten." Relena said cheerfully before hanging up the phone.  
  
Heero stared blankly off into space as the dial tone buzzed in his ear. What was wrong with him? He should be trying to get away from this girl, not closer to her. And yet…  
  
Heero closed his eyes and willed himself to the park. He appeared at the front gates in an instant, and luckily there were no humans close enough to see him teleport. Relena walked around the corner five minutes later. She saw him and waved.  
  
"Hey, how'd you get here so fast? I'm not late, am I?" she asked worriedly. Heero shook his head.  
  
"No, I'm just a fast walker. Come on, you can show me around the park."   
  
Relena nodded and they stepped inside the arches.   
  
"Why did you write your number on my palm?" Heero asked to break the silence that had already stretched between them. "To make your boyfriend jealous?"  
  
"Ex-boyfriend." Relena corrected. "I really did break up with him. And no, I kinda just wanted you to know someone."  
  
"Oh." Heero said, sounding a little more disappointed than he intended.  
  
Relena laughed lightly. "Don't be so bummed," she added with a seductive wink. "I am, after all, a single woman now."  
  
Heero smirked. This girl had guts. He was about to tell her so when she spoke first.  
  
"Where have I seen you before?" she asked, peering at him closely. "You're so familiar."  
  
Heero shrugged and proceeded to lie through his teeth. "Likewise. I don't think I've seen you before though."  
  
Relena shrugged off the feeling and smiled again, telling him funny anecdotes about school and how lucky he was transferring for their last year. Heero found himself opening up around her, despite the fact that she wasn't even of his kind.  
  
They found a park bench to sit down and talked until after sunset, which prompted them both as to what time it was.  
  
"Omigosh!" Relena exclaimed, getting to her feet. "It's way late, I have to get going back home."  
  
Heero got up also and looked her right in the eye. Soulless black met pure aquamarine for the second time and neither of them could look away.   
  
"Heero," Relena began, but he cut her off by pressing his lips up against her own. It caught himself in as much surprise as it did her, but neither pulled back. He kissed her softly at first, but then more urgently. When they pulled back, their eyes were still locked on eachother.  
  
"Goodnight, Relena." Heero said simply, stepping back into the shadows. And if Relena didn't know better, she could have sworn he vanished.   
  
"Heero…" Relena said, her voice getting swallowed up by the silence. "Goodnight.."  
  



	7. *~ "There's something I want to tell you...

Taste of Eternity  
  
Disclaimer = I do not own them and I never will. ^_^  
  
  
Heero teleported back into his room at the apartment and smashed a fist up against the wall. "STUPID!" he roared, whirling around and knocking all of his possessions off the dresser in one deft swoop. "HOW COULD I HAVE DONE THAT?!"  
  
"Done what?" Duo's voice asked. Heero, fire dancing in his eyes, spun sharply back around to see his friend sitting in the dark corner of the room, smiling at him in a bemused fashion.  
  
"Get out." Heero hissed. Duo shook his head vigorously like a little kid and said in a taunting voice. "I think I can guess what you did brother."  
  
"Get out!" Heero yelled, raising his voice and his fist. Duo remained unfazed.  
  
"Heero and Relena sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-" he was cut off as an entire desk was flung at his head.  
  
"SHIT!" Duo yelled, teleporting quickly to the other side of the room to avoid having an oak dresser implanted in his forehead. "Heero calm down, don't kill me!"  
  
Heero glared daggers at Duo and pointed to the door. "OUT."  
  
"I'm going don't worry…" Duo muttered, shuffling towards the exit. He stopped, his hand on the doorknob, and turned around to face Heero again. "I know you're confused now man, but take my advice, don't fight it. She'd be a good mate, just make her one of us."  
  
Heero, if possible, became even madder. "Don't you ever say that again. I would never bring Relena into this world. She deserves so much better."  
  
Duo raised both his eyebrows and sat down in his vacated spot in the corner. "Whoah. You really do like this chick huh?"  
  
Heero, feeling suddenly very drained, nodded. "I don't know why. I barely even know her. She's just…I mean, I…"  
  
"You love her." Duo finished. Heero paused and nodded. He expected Duo to deal out some heartfelt advice, but instead he just interjected, "Oh shit."   
  
"What? What's wrong with it? You have Hilde!"  
  
Duo shook his head. "I do have Hilde. I like her a lot. She's my mate, my counter part. But I don't love her. Vampires can't love. The emotion died along with our human form."  
  
Heero felt sick inside. "So I don't love Relena?" he asked, confused.  
  
Duo shook his head again. "Don't you see? You're different than the rest of us! I've always had my suspicions, but this proves it. You still have some human left inside you. You have the ability to feel, to love."  
  
"That's a good thing, right?" Heero asked, feeling fainter by the minute.  
  
Duo shrugged. "I don't know…I guess you'll have to find out." Before Heero could ask him anything else, he teleported out.   
  
"Relena…"   
  
The next day at school, Heero avoided Relena like the plague, and she couldn't figure out why.  
  
In passing period between lunch and study hall, she finally got up the courage to confront him.  
  
"Heero?" she asked, catching onto his arm. "Wait, what's wrong?" Heero stopped and looked at Relena, feeling his insides churn.   
  
*I think I'm falling in love with you…but I'm not supposed to.*  
  
"Nothing, just stressed out from school."   
  
Lying had become so easy.  
  
"Oh, okay."   
  
This was followed by a very pregnant pause.   
  
"Um, I was wondering if you would maybe like to come to a party with me. It's for my mom, so it's kinda formal. You do own a tux right?"  
  
"Yeah."   
  
*Mental note to self: buy tuxedo.*  
  
"Great! Well, stop by my house at around 6 tonight. It's the Peacecraft mansion, ask anyone where it is, you can't miss it. Bye!"   
  
Relena turned on her heel and headed off down the hall towards the cafeteria.  
  
Later on that evening, Heero stood in front of a full length mirror, modeling his new tuxedo.   
  
"Thanks for coming with me," he said to Duo and Hilde, who were also dressed up for the occasion. "I don't know what I'm doing half the time anymore."  
  
Duo nodded and straightened Heero's tie. "Don't worry about it pal, I never turn up a good party. They better have lots of food."  
  
Hilde rolled her eyes. "Why do you even bother Duo? It's not like you need it."  
  
Duo sniffed arrogantly and upturned his nose in the air. "Call it a hobby."  
  
"Come on," Heero prompted, dragging them both to the door, "I don't want to be late."  
  
"You know, Heero's been acting a lot nicer ever since he met that Relena girl." Hilde commented on the way to he car. Duo grinned.   
  
"Don't get your hopes up Hil. He's just as pissy as ever. Observe." Duo gave Heero a well aimed kick to the back of his leg.  
  
"DUO!" Heero roared, lashing out with his Power on instinct. Duo rubbed his face where the invisible force had struck and grinned sheepishly at Hilde. "See, what did I tell you?"  
  
The car ride to the mansion was a short one and was rivaled by the length of the trip from the front gates to the entrance of the building.   
  
The three of them piled out of the car and watched as the chauffeur drove it to the lot out back. "Be on your best behavior." Hilde prompted Duo. Heero nodded in appreciation and they stepped inside. Color, light and sound was everywhere. The room was full of ladies in elaborate dresses and men in stiffly formal tuxedos, mingling about sipping from champagne glasses. A live band played softly in the corner next to a refreshment table so long, it stretched from wall to wall.  
  
"Food!" Duo whispered excitedly, pointing to the table full of treats. "Come on Hilde, food!"  
  
"All right all right…" she muttered reluctantly. "You'll know where to find us, Heero."  
  
He nodded and watched as the two weaved their way into the crowd, disappearing among the masses of smiling faces. Heero moved off to a corner, not the least bit comfortable with the social scene. Thankfully, he was rescued shortly by Relena, all done up in her Sunday finest.   
  
"Come on," she hissed through gritted teeth frozen in a fake smile. "Mother says we can escape if we want. No one's allowed in the parlor, we could go there."  
  
Heero nodded, wondering how she got through events like this, and followed her away from the crowds of mingling people.  
  
The parlor turned out to be a large room with a domed ceiling full of comfy chairs and couches and plenty of books and tables to read on. "I usually come in here to do my homework." Relena explained, pushing a stack off books off the couch so Heero could sit down. "Sorry it's so messy."  
  
"That's okay." Heero answered, sitting down next to her. They sat in silence for awhile, but not the uncomfortable kind. They were both happy to be in eachothers company.  
  
"Relena," Heero said after awhile, taking a deep breath. "There's something I want to tell you. About us…"  
  
This was it. The moment. Although the message he wanted to say had changed drastically. Heero had decided that love was a bad thing. Love could only hurt. And hurting Relena was the last thing he wanted to do. He had to push her away.  
  
"I've been meaning to talk to you too." Relena said, snuggling in closer. "I really love you Heero. I've never felt this way about anyone before. I barely even know you, but I feel so complete when I'm around you. At the risk of sounding corny, I think maybe your my soulmate."  
  
She trailed off and waited his verdict, to see if he would laugh or love. Heero looked down at her, pressed up against his chest, her eyes so sweet and trusting. So innocent. She was too pure to love, too pure to lose. He would taint her if he kept her. But he would break her if he let her go.  
  
"I love you too Relena." he whispered, feeling the lost emotion behind those words. She sat up and kissed him, and something amazing happened. A tear, salty, wet and real, coursed down his cheek for the first time in 300 years. She kissed it away and he smiled, feeling that she deserved to have it.  
  
They continued kissing until his kisses trailed down her neck. And then he felt it, the craving. He wanted her blood. *No.* he told himself forcefully, feeling slightly sick to his stomach at the very thought. *NO.*  
  
But she was there, so tempting. His fangs grew without him even realizing it and they punctured her skin ever so gently. She gave a little gasp of surprise, then moaned in pleasure as he began drawing out her blood. "Heero," she whispered, "What are you-" she was cut off as he lay her back on the couch, still drawing blood. She moaned again, half pain, half pleasure and squirmed underneath him. She tasted so good.  
  
"Heero…" she whispered, her voice weak. He realized he should stop now but it was so hard. He couldn't loose control again, he would never forgive himself if he killed her. He pulled back and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, feeling like some kind of monster. Relena was pale, so pale, but still awake, and frightened.  
  
"I-I…I can't love you Relena." he whispered, getting shakily to his feet. "I'm a vampire…and I'll only hurt you."  
  
"Heero?"  
  
Without another word, he opened the parlor window and swung his legs out, looking down at the ground far below. He turned to face her before jumping neatly out the window, cursing his own stupidity with every action. Heero hit the ground hard and crumpled, getting to his feet as fast as he could. He was up and running in an instant, the cold wind tearing at his cheeks and stinging his face. She would hate him now. But not nearly as much as he hated himself.   
  
He kept running as thunder crashed against the sky and heavy clouds rolled in from the heavens. Rain splattered down around him like bullets, making the terrain a heavy muddy sinkhole. He slowed down a bit, then finally collapsed face up in the mud. The rain fell heavy in his eyes like his long forgotten tears, trailing down his face and landing on his mudsplattered suitcoat. He lay there for awhile before realizing that he couldn't stay here forever. Someone was bound to find him.   
  
He dragged himself off the ground and slowly trudged off in the opposite direction from which he came from, heading out to the old abandoned manor his kind used as a community house. It would most likely be empty. He needed some sleep.  
  
*I failed.* he thought miserably, stepping inside the manor and shaking the rainwater from his hair. *I failed love.*  



	8. *~ "Facing the darkness."

Taste of Eternity  
  
Disclaimer = I do not own them and I never will. ^_^  
  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~* ((end flashback/heero's memory))  
  
Heero woke up and shook his head. For an instant he thought he was at the apartment, and the whole thing had been a dream. Then he realized he was in the manor, and his dream had really been memories. Relena was gone, and he was alone. The vampire who could feel love, but could also kill it.  
  
He sat in the darkness and tried to cling to it the way he always did. Only now the darkness no longer brought him comfort. He had been in the light, been warmed by it, and now his old life was nothing but cold.   
  
"Heero?"  
  
He froze at the sound of the voice. It was neither Duo or Hilde, they were both occupied in the room next door. The melodic tone could only belong to one person.   
  
"Relena. How did you find me?"  
  
The young blonde moved out of the shadows into the spot where the moonlight drifted through the curtains. She was soaked to the bone, her hair hanging limp at her shoulders, barely covering the twin puncture wounds on her neck.   
  
"I love you still, Heero." she whispered. "Please don't leave me."  
  
Heero got to his feet and turned around to face her. "Leave me alone." He said bitterly, when inside he longed to run and embrace her.  
  
She stood her ground, not the least bit intimidated by his icy tone. "I love you and nothing can ever change that. We were meant to be."  
  
Heero stepped closer to her. "I'm a killer, Relena."  
  
"But-"  
  
He moved so quickly she didn't have any time to react. He grabbed her and spun her around, pulling her up against him. His hand was at her throat, the cold blade of his dagger pressed firmly up against her flesh. "I promised myself I would kill you, when you were still a little girl." he growled.   
  
Instead of being afraid like she was supposed to be, Relena found her heart breaking. "You don't love me then." she whispered.   
  
Heero stepped backwards and released her from his grip. Relena rubbed her throat and Heero stared down at the hand that held the knife. It was shaking.  
  
"No…I do. It's just, I'd hurt you. I almost killed you because I love you. Get away while you still have a chance."  
  
Relena walked forward and wrapped Heero up in a hug. "I'm not afraid." She whispered. "Make me what you are. Then we can be together."  
  
"NO!" Heero yelled, pushing away from her again. "I could NEVER do that to you. I'd never twist you into something so horrible."  
  
"Heero, it's what I want. I would die for you."  
  
Heero looked at her sadly. "To be with me, you'd have to."  
  
Relena dropped down to her knees, shoulders shaking with silent tears. Heero looked on in silence, a funny feeling tugging inside him. She had lowered her head and held her long golden hair aloft, exposing the back of her neck.  
  
"I am not afraid." She repeated. "Do it, Heero."  
  
The solidity in her voice scared him. He was so taken aback that he started towards her, intent on fulfilling her wishes. He stopped himself just in time.   
  
"No." he said, his voice breaking. "You don't know what you're asking me to do."  
  
Relena scrambled to her feet, tears pouring down her already damp face. "I don't care, I don't care!" she screamed, her voice tearing from her throat loudly enough to rival the thunder that rumbled outside. Her hands curled into fists and she pounded hard on his chest with every word. "I don't care," she finished at last, slumping defeated into his arms.  
  
Heero cradled her then, stroking the limp, wet hair from her face. "I am the darkness, Relena." he whispered to her shuddering form. "One of those who roam the night. I've done terrible things, unspeakable." Relena looked up at him sadly through her tears and he stroked her cheek. "You're so beautiful," he whispered. "You can't let me in."  
  
"You're wrong!" Relena cried desperately. "I don't care who you were, only who you are now. How could you possibly love me if you were such a demon? Or has this all been a game?"  
  
Heero was silent, and, save the loud pattering of rain on the rooftop, not a single sound penetrated their ears. "I am not like the others. There is a part of me that's still human." He paused and shook his head, not believing that he was admitting the things that he'd tried to ignore. "I didn't want it to be true. I didn't want to feel. Hate, sorrow, pain…love."   
  
Relena took her shivering hand and placed it on Heero's still heart. "If you're the one to change me, I can love too." Heero stood rigid, making the hardest decision of his life. Slowly, so slowly, he reached his hand to cover Relena's own. She smiled, then gasped. His other hand was holding the dagger again, holding it high above her head.   
  
"HEERO!" she screamed as he brought the dagger down. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to come, only it never did. Cracking an eyelid open, she saw that Heero had slashed the blade across his own wrist. Blood was dripping from the wound to the floor, forming a puddle at their feet.  
  
"I…" Heero began, holding his bleeding wrist to her, "I can't save you from destiny."  
  
Relena, tears shining in her eyes, nodded in understanding. Taking her last, quivering breath, she grabbed ahold of Heero's arm and pressed her mouth firmly against the open wound. She drank some blood, sputtered and choked, but swallowed another mouthful. Heero gritted his teeth against the burning sensation traveling up his arm and throughout his body. No one had told him that changing someone hurt him as well as the human.  
  
He pulled his arm away as soon as she had enough and gazed at her lovely aquamarine eyes one last time. They had lost their sparkle, even in the moonlight, and were slowly turning a grayish black. "I'm sorry," he whispered to her and she shook her head, fighting the urge to collapse from the pain coursing through her body.  
  
"No," she murmured, falling weakly into his arms. "This is the right way. You are the light in the darkness, Heero. And I will be with you from now own."  
  
She gave an agonizing scream of pain before her eyes rolled back in her head. She shuddered and then went limp, her life ebbing away. Heero picked her up in his arms and carried her over to the couch, laying her lifeless body down among the pillows.  
  
He sat down next to her, still holding her now cold hand. She would wake soon, a new born vampiress, but until then, he would wait. His mind was reeling, he refused to believe that he had done it. Was this her destiny? Was that what the ghostly figure of her had been trying to say? Is that why she lured him to her so many years ago?  
  
Heero gazed down at Relena's unmoving face, lost in thought. Who had that ghostly girl been? And why had he seen the replica of himself that same night?   
  
Suddenly, the answers hit Heero like a bolt of lightning. He remembered what Duo had said to him, the night he had been changed.  
  
** "Our mind powers are just as strong as our physical abilities. Some of the strongest can even predict the future, or alter the past."**  
  
Alter the past. Heero got to his feet, knowing instantly what he must do. He looked down at Relena, who already showed some signs of waking. "I'll be back soon," he whispered, then closed his eyes, concentrating with all his might on his Power.  
  
The air around him began to shimmer, and when he opened his eyes, he was no longer standing in the old darkened manor. He was back in the park, on that same starry night when he had first seen the little girl.  
  
"I did it!" Heero whispered from behind the tree where he stood. "I've traveled back through time!"  
  
Heero watched with interest as his past self entered the park, looking wistfully up at the stars. Closing his eyes once again, Heero focused his Power into a physical shape, the ghostly figure of a young Relena. Under his careful direction, the night played out just as he had lived it all those years ago. Heero remembered perfectly what the little girl had said to him and directed her to say the words once more. With a final giggle from the little girl, Heero retracted his power and watched as his former self looked confusedly around the park for any sign of her.  
  
"Now I finally understand," Heero said to himself, stepping briefly from behind his hiding spot, as to allow his past self to view him. "In a way, it was destiny after all." He watched as his past self's mouth formed into a little 'o' upon glimpsing him. Heero smirked in an offhand fashion, then disappeared back to the present, knowing that he had finally found the last piece to the puzzle.  
  
"Heero?" Relena asked, already sitting up on the couch clutching at her head. "Where were you?"  
  
"Sealing fate," Heero said vaguely, sweeping Relena off the couch and twirling her around the room. She laughed a little, frightened by the changes within her but somehow comforted by just being in his arms. Heero stopped twirling her and set her down, looking at her seriously. Her black eyes met his own in a twisted repetition of their first meeting.  
  
"I don't care about the darkness anymore, Relena." He breathed softly. "Now that I have you."  
  
He kissed her then, and the world once again made sense.  
  
  
  
End.  
  
  
  
Author's Note: Could it be? A happy ending! From Kurai?!?! What has the world come to? R+R or rabid tigers will eat your house.  
  
  



End file.
